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so i acquired my integra type r a few months ago and figured I would share everything I know about it and what all I have been doing to it. By no means will this be some crazy exciting Sema build but just some useful information hopefully to anyone who cares.
When end I purchased the car it was in pretty decent shape for all things considered. (Old track car,20 years old, 175k miles and somewhat neglected.) but nothing a little TLC, time and money couldn’t help.
So this is when I purchased the car. Like I said nothing horrible. Had a good bit of tasteful modifications, and most importantly to me it has a clean title and runs great!!
After a bit of time of driving and being a hard dicked Honda fanboy who finally owns a type r I start to realize and see the little things it needed.
I started with some serious cleaning. It had been outside for a bit and the paint was starting to show. So after a couple good baths and wax it started to shine again. Then came all the annoying noises. The car had Hasport motor mounts. (Great for the track, but a royal pain in the butt for street driving) so I replaced them with oem mounts. I have to say having stock mounts and the dash not sounding like it’s about to rattle and break in half is so nice.
Next came bushings. Everything under this poor car was shot. Either dry rotted or just wore completely out from the miles and track time. I’ve replaced shifter bushings, swaybar bushings and end links front and rear. (Hardrace was what I went with) excellent quality and made a HUGE difference over the old stock ones. I ordered new tourqe mounts as well. The factory ones like everything else we’re just toast. I was having some alignment issues with the front end (couldn’t get it to stop pulling and the camber was way off from side to side) so I installed a new pair of hardrace upper control arms to fix that issue. Pics to follow for everything.
After some more driving and cleaning, and tinkering with the car it was time to spend a couple bucks and get some maintenance things done. I found an Acura dealer online that sells parts at a very reasonable price. So I got in touch with them on what I needed and they provided everything I was inquiring about. It was great! Oemacuraparts.com is the place I’ve been dealing with. Awesome bunch of guys. I ordered plugs,wires,cap and rotor button, valve cover gaskets and all of my mounts and the list goes on and on. You get the memo.
Latest update is I have since sold the te’s and installed the oem Wheels back on the car. A friend of mine had a brand new already painted from Honda front lip. Installed that bad boy and replaced the old worn out skunk2 rear camber arms with a new set. I officially have no more squeaks, rattles or any other noises and the car is on its way back to being in top shape. Next on my list is a new header (maybe oem or a nice aftermarket) because the one I have now is cracked in a bunch of places and leaks. And I’ll be replacing the front windshield and mounding. It feels so nice to have this car in good comfortable driving shape. But for now here is how she sits.
Now, I TOTALLY feel you on the mount issue. I just installed HASPORT 62A torque mounts, while the other mounts are stock. Let's just say from 3K-4500 RPM, my dash sounds like it's going to explode. So much so that I ended up buying a set of OEM torque mounts this weekend and will swap out the HASPORT. I just can't do it. I want to actually enjoy hearing the engine, and right now I can't over the sound of the dash and vibration.
Would you be interested in selling the Mugen Intake?
not really. not right now anyways. I thought about selling it and installing a stock one but I kinda like it. its not too loud but it gives it a little extra noise.
In for updates! I miss this car dearly and kick myself for not buying it back from who you bought it from. Many years of memories in that car.
Agreed on the hasport mounts, Alan put those in after I sold them to him... I can't stand those things.
This is my favorite picture I ever took of it @ VIR one morning... I have a ton more that I'll have to send you
although this was by far my favorite car I have ever owned.. I regretfully sold it last summer. I had just gotten married, a/c heat unit went out on the house and a few other things happened that put quite the damper on the bank account. I met a fellow enthusiest from the forums and I sold the car to him. the car is in great hands, and I know its being cared for as it should be. that being said, id buy it back in a heartbeat now. hopefully one day ill be able to have it or another back. such a great car!!
itrSteez (Steve?), hello, I'm Scott, the new owner of 98-0563. I bought it from Cory (Muddy_reindeer) in July 2018. I still lurk and occasionally post here, and Cory had posted in another thread (the CW pics thread maybe) that he was kicking around the idea of selling. I wanted to make sure this great car went to another caring enthusiast who will enjoy the car and fix the issues along the way. There are some things that need attention, which wasn't unexpected because of the miles and this machine being used the way it was intended. I'm a service technician at an Acura dealer, and have been accumulating refresh parts for my PY 00-0330 and now 98-0563. A busy schedule and my funds going into parts before they become discontinued has put the work I want to do on the back burner. I want to make a refresh/restoration thread when I have everything lined up.
It would be really cool to talk with you about the history of the car sometime. I'm not sure how long you owned it, but it sounds like many years and lots of enjoyment in that time.
One of the problems to be addressed is the engine. Although she gets on down the road just fine, earlier this year I performed a compression check and the results were concerning. Checked warm, dry cylinders: 135, 170, 200, 156. Not only are the three low cylinders concerning, this same compression tester was used to measure my other ITR several years ago and the results were 240 IIRC. The oil level has stayed right at the full mark and doesn't smell like gas. The reason I mention that is the rear bumper gets the good old coating of black sooty residue, which has a dry texture to it (doesn't smear if wiped, like oil would?). I found the ignition timing fully advanced, and set it to 16* BTDC. The SMSP header (hell yeah!) unfortunately needs some attention as Cory passed on to me that it has a leak. My plan is to purchase a JDM long block to install into the car, allowing the car to stay on the road and ample time to repair the existing engine. Since the block was previously bored .25mm over according to paperwork I received from Cory, if the compression issue is due to the bottom end, the rebuild project will be on a longer timeline as the block might need to be resleeved.
But the chassis is solid, rides great with the replaced torque mounts and the Ground Controls (I did raise the ride height to stock for now because the Hardrace adjustable upper A-arms were hitting the shock towers), steering and braking are excellent. I'm collecting all the parts to refresh the a/c system. I replaced the rubber components of the shift lever this summer and made a huge improvement there. Here's some pics that don't show much change since Cory had it, other than dashboard center stack and center console items. The black trim pieces are no longer available, so I'm refreshing with the carbon print parts.
Forgot to say I love the pic you took at VIR! I'd absolutely welcome any pictures and information you want to send me. Feel free to PM me here anytime. I'm on instagram as threethirtyarr (not a whole lot there lol). Thanks for posting today. It made my eyes bug out to see this thread bumped today haha
I would expect oil loss at minimum with compression numbers that poor, if the block has been messed with before though then who knows what you'll find if you pull it apart. Boring another 0.25mm and new pistons would probably be enough though, I doubt the damage is enough to warrant aftermarket sleeves unless you plan on making crazy power.
itrSteez (Steve?), hello, I'm Scott, the new owner of 98-0563. I bought it from Cory (Muddy_reindeer) in July 2018. I still lurk and occasionally post here, and Cory had posted in another thread (the CW pics thread maybe) that he was kicking around the idea of selling. I wanted to make sure this great car went to another caring enthusiast who will enjoy the car and fix the issues along the way. There are some things that need attention, which wasn't unexpected because of the miles and this machine being used the way it was intended. I'm a service technician at an Acura dealer, and have been accumulating refresh parts for my PY 00-0330 and now 98-0563. A busy schedule and my funds going into parts before they become discontinued has put the work I want to do on the back burner. I want to make a refresh/restoration thread when I have everything lined up.
It would be really cool to talk with you about the history of the car sometime. I'm not sure how long you owned it, but it sounds like many years and lots of enjoyment in that time.
One of the problems to be addressed is the engine. Although she gets on down the road just fine, earlier this year I performed a compression check and the results were concerning. Checked warm, dry cylinders: 135, 170, 200, 156. Not only are the three low cylinders concerning, this same compression tester was used to measure my other ITR several years ago and the results were 240 IIRC. The oil level has stayed right at the full mark and doesn't smell like gas. The reason I mention that is the rear bumper gets the good old coating of black sooty residue, which has a dry texture to it (doesn't smear if wiped, like oil would?). I found the ignition timing fully advanced, and set it to 16* BTDC. The SMSP header (hell yeah!) unfortunately needs some attention as Cory passed on to me that it has a leak. My plan is to purchase a JDM long block to install into the car, allowing the car to stay on the road and ample time to repair the existing engine. Since the block was previously bored .25mm over according to paperwork I received from Cory, if the compression issue is due to the bottom end, the rebuild project will be on a longer timeline as the block might need to be resleeved.
But the chassis is solid, rides great with the replaced torque mounts and the Ground Controls (I did raise the ride height to stock for now because the Hardrace adjustable upper A-arms were hitting the shock towers), steering and braking are excellent. I'm collecting all the parts to refresh the a/c system. I replaced the rubber components of the shift lever this summer and made a huge improvement there. Here's some pics that don't show much change since Cory had it, other than dashboard center stack and center console items. The black trim pieces are no longer available, so I'm refreshing with the carbon print parts.
Hell yeah man! I’m glad it’s in good hands. I’d be more than happy to dig up whatever pictures I have to share and give whatever info I can on its history.
Your black soot on the bumper could also be from the car running rich if there is a leak in the header. I'd get the leak taken care of first and then start looking at the more expensive repairs.
I would expect oil loss at minimum with compression numbers that poor, if the block has been messed with before though then who knows what you'll find if you pull it apart. Boring another 0.25mm and new pistons would probably be enough though, I doubt the damage is enough to warrant aftermarket sleeves unless you plan on making crazy power.
Thanks for the reply. I agree, those low numbers lead to thinking about possibly cracked piston rings, cylinder wall scoring, etc.
I mentioned the oil level holding right at the full mark, looking and smelling like oil; and the soot on the rear bumper not appearing to smear like oily residue, because that would lead me to consider it’s not a bottom end issue, but perhaps something like bent valves.
Conversely, I had considered that maybe the engine is consuming oil, but also due to the exhaust leak at the header, is running rich to the point of fuel contaminating/diluting the oil and possibly washing down the cylinders and causing damage. But since the oil doesn’t smell like gas, I don’t know.
Honda’s service limit for boring the cylinders is .25mm over and I’m really just looking to go with OEM specs. Considering that, if the cylinder walls needed attention, would I be looking at resleeving the block with stock-sized sleeves?
Needless to say, I have more inspecting of the engine and more research to do. I did a half-hearted leakdown test several months ago. The numbers suck, and they coincide with the compression numbers (lower the compression, higher the leakdown). I was short on time, just interested in the numbers, so I didn’t remove the intake from the throttle body, the PCV, etc.
03-26-2018, 03:31 PM
Itr 98-0563 build/restoration thread
